Troubled 13-year-old who stabbed his foster mother to death should never have been placed with inexperienced carers — (The Daily Record)

The Daily Record

By Mark McGivern

17:54, 12 AUG 2015

A TROUBLED 13-year-old who stabbed his foster mother to death should never have been placed with inexperienced carers, a sheriff has ruled.

A Fatal Accident Inquiry in Motherwell heard that Dawn McKenzie was too vulnerable to be trusted with the potential problems of looking after the teenager, who had severe behavioural problems.

Glasgow City Council announced that a probe will be launched into the death, which could lead to an overhaul of fostering services in Scotland.

Dawn, 34 , was stabbed by the teenager she and her husband Bryan were looking after at their home in Hamilton in June 2011.

The boy – Child D – was detained for seven years in 2012 after admitting culpable homicide on the grounds of diminished responsibility. A court heard he suffered a mental disorder at the time of Dawn’s killing.

He appeared to snap after Dawn confiscated his laptop, in agreement with social workers, when Child D used social media to contact his birth mother, with whom his life was “chaotic”.

In his written deliberation yesterday, Sheriff Bicket ruled that the death of Dawn could have been avoided.

He accepted the scathing Significant Case Review of senior social worker Kirsty Maclean, which said the boy was too risky to enter the home of Dawn and husband Bryan, a joiner.

Sheriff Bicket said Dawn’s death might have been avoided had independent agency Foster Care Associates Scotland (FCAS) had “taken proper account” of the couple’s lack of experience as foster carers.

He said: “I am prepared on the balance of probabilities to accept Ms Maclean’s evidence that they should not have been recommended as suitable prospective carers for the child.

“This is not a question of professional negligence, it is a matter of a proper exercise of professional judgement taking full account of the facts which ought to be available and the full circumstances of the case.

“It does seem to me to be a reasonable precaution to have taken proper account of the McKenzies’ status as new carers, their lack of suitable previous experience with children of the age of the said child and the other factors enumerated by Ms Maclean.”

Ms Maclean earlier told the FAI: “I don’t think the placement should have been made and if it hadn’t been made she wouldn’t have died.

“Having a 12-year-old placed brought a number of risks that wouldn’t have been present in younger children.

“I would not have wanted to see them approved for that age range. The likelihood of emotional behaviour problems is heightened with age.”

The sheriff endorsed a range of recommendations in the earlier Serious Case Review, including those aimed at ensuring proper Crisis Prevention and Intervention training for foster parents and careful consideration of potential risks in matching children with foster homes.

A spokesman for the Glasgow City Council said: “This has been an incredibly distressing case and our thoughts remain with Mrs McKenzie’s family.

“A report that will consider the implications of the sheriff’s findings for the council and what action we require to take as a result will be submitted to our children and families committee as soon as is reasonably possible.”

Estella Abraham, chief executive officer of FCA Scotland, said yesterday: “We will now reflect on the full findings and the recommendations made in the judgement to ensure that the foster care provided in Scotland continues to be the best it can be for the children involved and the families who care for them.”

She added: “Dawn McKenzie was highly regarded as a child care worker before becoming a foster carer with FCA Scotland.

“Sheriff Bickett has recognised that in a short space of time she made a positive contribution to a young person’s life. Today our thoughts are with Dawn’s family and Bryan in particular and we wish to express our sincere condolences to them.

“The conclusion of the inquiry was that Dawn’s death was the result of an entirely unpredictable event.”

INQUIRY UNDER THE FATAL ACCIDENTS AND INQUIRIES (SCOTLAND) ACT 1976 INTO THE SUDDEN DEATH OF DAWN FIONA BYRNE McKENZIE — (SHERIFFDOM OF SOUTH STRATHCLYDE, DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY AT HAMILTON)

74. By September 2009, child D was responding well to guidance and boundaries, was attending a local sports club, had been trained as a “buddy” at school and was “on track” academically.

77. On 2 February 2010, it was reported to the Social Work Department by Mr and Mrs Edwards that child D had not been bed-wetting in recent times, after he had attended a clinic and had been prescribed medication. Upon arrival at the placement, child D had been wet on most days, but medication had improved the situation.

126. Around late 2009 or early 2010, Bryan McKenzie became aware that Dawn was considering becoming a foster carer. He was supportive of Dawn’s desire to pursue this. They did not know any other foster carers at this time. Dawn applied to an independent fostering agency, FCAS, after seeing an advertisement in a newspaper. She made an initial enquiry to the agency on 11 January 2010 after doing some research into them. They did not apply to any other agencies, although she may have done some research into others. At the initial stages Bryan McKenzie did not perceive any particular challenges for the couple.

127. After the initial enquiry, Mr and Mrs McKenzie were visited at home by a representative from FCAS, who obtained further information in relation to the couple. In terms of their motivation to foster, the couple had been thinking about fostering for a long time, and wanted to make a difference to a young person’s life. Dawn was willing to give up her full time employment, and her employer was supportive and was willing to give her time to go on training. Mr and Mrs McKenzie indicated that they felt that they had transferable skills, and necessary experience to manage any challenges and were willing to do the necessary training. They felt that they had a good understanding of the factors that led to children being separated from their birth parents and understood that there would be challenges. It was recorded that they were open and willing to consider children aged 0 to 16 years. FCAS considered that the motivation of Mr and Mrs McKenzie felt genuine and recommended that they proceed to Skills to Foster training in February 2010.

152. Dawn and Bryan McKenzie were recommended to the agency decision maker by the Fostering Panel as short term and respite foster carers for one child or two siblings, within the age range of 0 to 16 years, with a preference for 1 to 8 years, on 28 October 2010. The agency decision maker made no requirement in relation to Mr and Mrs McKenzie taking a respite placement before a substantive fostering placement, nor did such a suggestion appear in their carer profile.

166. Mr and Mrs McKenzie were contacted by Eileen Leber and Linda Nicholson, who met with them on the evening of 25 November 2010, to discuss the possibility of child D being placed with them.

176. On 29 November 2010, child D moved into the foster placement with Dawn and Bryan McKenzie.Fiona Edwards alone transported him to the new placement.

220. Mrs McKenzie recorded in the KDA form for the week ending 19 June 2011, that she had “removed both child D’s laptop and mobile phone” after discovering his unsupervised Facebook contact with his mother on 15 June.She stated that “child D accepted that his laptop and phone were being taken off him due to using his laptop to contact his mum.No conflict from him”.

232. Later in the afternoon Mr and Mrs McKenzie and child D drove to ASDA, where Mr McKenzie and child D dropped off Mrs McKenzie to do shopping. Child D was becoming more agitated, as he wanted to go out and play football.Mr McKenzie told him that he could not do so.Upon return to the house, child D said that he wanted to use his computer.Mr McKenzie told him that he could not have his computer, and told him to watch television instead.Mr McKenzie did not want to become drawn into an argument at this time.A short time later Mr McKenzie and child D collected Mrs McKenzie from ASDA by car.They had dinner in the house, and at around 7pm, Mr McKenzie left the house to spend the evening with his brother-in-law. Mr McKenzie stated that “things seemed okay” when he left the house that evening.Mr McKenzie would never have left his house if he had had any concerns about child D being violent that night.

233. At approximately 2006 hours on 24 June 2011 a call was received from the McKenzies’ landline via the ‘999’ system.That call was made by Dawn McKenzie, from her home address.

234. In response to this call, police constables Frank Thomson and Gary Thomson attended at the McKenzies’ home, arriving shortly after 2010 hours and being allowed access to the close by a neighbour from the opposite flat.The police officers were able to enter theMcKenzies’ flat as the door was ajar.Upon entering, they saw Dawn McKenzie lying on the floor of the living room, covered in blood. When asked by a police officer “who stabbed you?” Dawn McKenzie replied “ma son”.